Subject: Friend - A Strong Start to 2025

A Strong Start to 2025!

Welcome to 2025!

Each new year brings with it new excitement as homeschooling families round the country begin their new learning adventures with Footprints on Our Land. We love welcoming new and old homeschoolers back after the holiday season.

As the year stretches out before you, you may feel a little anxiety if it's your first year of homeschooling, perhaps you have a new baby in the family or maybe you have a high schooler for the first time...

Whatever your circumstances, take heart - we are convinced that as you faithfully and diligently walk this journey in love and grace with your children, many of your worries will fall away.

New on YouTube!

Towards the end of last year we added a series of short videos for new homeschoolers on our YouTube channel. The Homeschooling 101 series answers many commonly asked questions by new and old homeschoolers alike. Go check them out.

Homeschool News

On 24 December 2024 the BELA Act was gazetted. This means that the BELA Act is now in force. We continue to say what we have said all along…

DO NOT PANIC!

Check out the extensive legal section on our site to get correct and up to date information on what you should and shouldn’t do.

Also watch to this very informative interview about applying to register for home education: Complexities of Registration with the DBE

Sssh. There are many families who are 'registration-hesitant' for what they believe are good reasons. If you are one of them, you are not alone! What Could Happen if you Don't Register?

This month in history

2 January

Cape Town Minstrel Carnival, also known as Kaapse Klopse, is an annual festival which takes place on January 2nd. It began in the early 19th century when slaves in Cape Town were give the day off work to celebrate the New Year.

17 January 1852

The Sand River Convention was signed, which formally recognised the independence of the South African Republic, in the area north of the Vaal River, from Great Britain.

New articles on our website

IF you choose to register with the DBE and you use one of our Footprints programmes, do visit this page on our website for Footprints Guidelines for Registration with the DBE.
Now that we have 8 different programmes, you may find the choices difficult (yes, we know they all look so good!). We have an article for you on how to choose Your Learning Pathway with Footprints.

Footprints – The Early Years (ages 8-14) and Voetspore 1 – Die Vroeë Jare (8-14 jaar) are our two most-loved, story-based South African social studies programmes.

GOOD NEWS!

Live Q & A session - Homeschool Kitchen Table

In the years before Facebook and Instagram, Zoom and Google Meet, there was a pioneer group of homeschooling parents, scattered around South Africa, who needed fellowship and community with other homeschooling parents.
The Homeschool Kitchen Table was an email group, which became a life source for this fledgling group of parents, who wanted to swim upstream and take on the challenge of home education. It was a place to share struggles and encouragement.

We are launching that kind of mentorship support for homeschooling parents - live!

Join Wendy and Shirley on Tuesday 28 January at 7:30 pm for our first monthly live Q & A session about our Footprints programmes and any other homeschooling questions or challenges. Learn from us and from others.

The meeting will be hosted online, please book your ticket to this event at Quicket here:

Homeschool Kitchen Table

BOOK NOW